A husband, father, brother and son shares his thoughts about real life and real faith.

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Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Your favorite things.

Your favorite things. Quick...what comes to your mind? Don't think about it. What are the first visions that pop into your head when you read that phrase. Is it people, hobbies, a favorite vacation spot or a particularly delightful food you enjoy? If you're like most people, it's a myriad of things that fill that spot in our heart. You probably flipped through those thoughts like a Rolodex (I just dated myself. My kids have no idea what a Rolodex is any more)

The Bible says that we can get sidetracked by many things, thoughts about the temporal surroundings of this place. Look at the way the Message translates Colossians 3:1-2:

So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. See things from His perspective. An interesting thought. Now, don't misunderstand what's being said here. Jesus was human as well as God. I believe Jesus had a favorite fish, a favorite place to get away and even enjoyed the company of three disciples more than the others.

But to "see things from God's perspective" (what Jesus did and what we should strive to do) means the worries diminish and stress melts. It means we see this world for what it is. Instead of constantly making deposits in our accounts here, we are looking for eternal investments where things really matter. It's having a Jesus filter.

So, while we still have to earn a paycheck and feed our bodies, we can't get caught up in building wealth here or fighting a pointless battle to keep our bodies from aging (man, how I see that all around us where we live). We understand that, at best, our lives are given no more than an average of 75 years or so in preparation for the real life, the one that is yet to come.

Look up! Be alert and watch what Christ is up to. That's where the real action is...and the best investment of every thought we have.